“We must obey God rather than men!”—Acts 5:29.

Now that Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor has denied Hobby Lobby’s application for an emergency injunction protecting them from Obamacare’s HHS Mandate on abortion and birth control, Hobby Lobby has decided to defy the federal government to remain true to their religious beliefs, at enormous risk and financial cost.

Hobby Lobby is wholly owned and controlled by the Green family, who are evangelical Christians. The Greens are committed to running their business in accordance with their Christian faith, believing that God wants them to conduct their professional business in accordance with the family’s understanding of the Bible. Hobby Lobby’s mission statement includes, “Honoring the Lord in all we do by operating the company … consistent with Biblical principles.”

The HHS Mandate goes into effect for Hobby Lobby on Jan. 1, 2013. The Greens correctly understand that some of the drugs the HHS Mandate requires them to cover at no cost in their healthcare plans cause abortions.

Today Hobby Lobby announced that they will not comply with this mandate to become complicit in abortion, which the Greens believe ends an innocent human life.

Response: This is a courageous act by the Green family and Christians from all over America should stand up and support them in this decision. A number of other allied religious groups and institutions have indicated that they are considering a similar action.

You can believe that the Obama administration will come with the full force of the law against the Hobby Lobby owners and attempt to destroy them before others follow suit. If several hundred businesses and religious institutions stood up with the Green family immediately then it would be far more difficult for the Obama Justice Department to take action.

Believe me this is a critical moment in the history of our nation where our rights and freedoms are being challenged. Most of the country is asleep when it comes to this issue or believes that religious leaders and Christian business owners are exaggerating about the potential loss of religious liberty.

Also this issue has been cast as part of the ‘war on women’ and religious institutions and businesses have been identified as being part of the problem. So some view this as a conflict between civil rights and Constitutionally defined freedoms. Some actually believe that the ‘right’ to free contraceptives and abortion is more important for the greater good and the civil rights of women and should be allowed to over-ride religious freedom in this case. But this is really about who is going to pay for it all and whether people of faith should be forced to pay for abortifacients which are contrary to their beliefs and religious conscience.

The Obama administration on their part is actually trying to redefine the Constitution and the 1st amendment to limit religious freedom to the four walls of houses of worship. So I believe that the Green family are well within their rights to challenge the administration on this issue. Here is a poignant quote about the tradition of civil disobedience in America and Christianity from the Breitbart article:

This is civil disobedience, consistent with America’s highest traditions when moral issues are at stake. The Greens are a law-abiding family. They have no desire to defy their own government. But as the Founders launched the American Revolution because they believed the British government was violating their rights, the Greens believe that President Barack Obama and Secretary Kathleen Sebelius are commanding the Greens to sin against God, and that no government has the lawful authority to do so.

The Christian tradition of defying government commands to do something wrong goes back to the very birth of Christianity. …

The Green family of Hobby Lobby should be commended and supported in their efforts to preserve individual religious liberty and conscience in America. Political support for the Green’s should be sought especially from among our representatives in Congress.

Meanwhile Christians should remember to lift this family and their business up in prayer. This not only could affect the Green’s but also the 13,000 employees who work for them. If possible the administration might seek to put them out of business and put 13,000 more people on the unemployment rolls. *Top